Willingness To Adopt (WTA) e-commerce by Filipino farmers as a means for sales during the COVID-19 pandemic

With the advent of COVID-19, there was a worldwide shift in how people interacted with each other. Despite the quarantine restrictions in the Philippines that permitted food-related activities, the situation worsened concerning food security and led to a surge in food waste. The closure of businesses reduced demand for raw materials like vegetables and crops, leaving farmers with excess unsold produce. To address this issue, many turned to e-commerce to ensure safe and convenient access to essential goods. As the pandemic accelerated the growth of e-commerce, the agriculture sector also adapted by embracing this new method to connect with consumers.

This study aimed to analyze the current acceptance of Filipino farmers in Naic, Cavite using e-commerce to bridge the producer-consumer sales gap brought on by the restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic. Using an extended version of the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), the farmers were surveyed and interviewed to measure their Perceived Innovativeness (PI), Perceived Usefulness (PU), Perceived Ease of Use (PEOU), Perceived Cost (PC), Information Awareness (IA), and Social Influence (SI). Using Spearman’s rho, results show that PI (p = 0.001), PU (p < 0.000), IA (p < 0.000), SI (p < 0.000), and even monthly internet data allocation (p = 0.001) were all correlated to the farmer’s Willingness to Adopt (WTA) e-commerce.

However, based on the farmers' realities, e-commerce is only one step in improving their sales. Cooperation and communication in the cooperative can reduce oversupply and improve sales prices. At the same time, the presence of direct buyers does not urge farmers to move online, which would require additional time, expenses, and gadgets, along with a wider social media network and tech literacy.